McConnell Says Control of Senate is 50/50, Polls Say Republican Odds Are Much Worse Than That

Mitch McConnell will hold Trump impeachment trial

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:18 pm

In 2014, the Republican party took control of the senate. They have used that majority to wield incredible power over Democrats. The GOP led Senate was able to push through a massive tax break for the rich. They were also able to prevent Donald Trump from being impeached in early 2020.

But most importantly for the party, they’ve exerted massive influence over the Supreme Court. The Republicans successfully blocked the nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016. They’ve also placed three new justices, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Democrats have long eyed 2020 to regain control. While Liberals enjoyed a wave election in 2018, they weren’t able to gain control of the senate. 2020 presents a much better map for them.

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Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, has presented control of the senate as being up for grabs. He said said a recent Kentucky campaign event, “It’s a 50-50 proposition. We have a lot of exposure. This is a huge Republican class. … There’s dogfights all over the country.”

The Kentucky senator continued, “If you look at the Democratic Party today, you ought to be frightened. We’re fighting for our way of life.”

According to pollsters, the Republicans don’t have anywhere near a 50% chance of retaining control. GOP lawmakers like Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Joni Ernst, Cory Gardner and Martha McSally are in particular danger of losing their seats.

The website, 538.com, currently has Democratic odds of winning control of the senate at 75%.

Notably, if Joe Biden wins election, Kamala Harris would become the Senate’s tie breaking vote and the party would only need 50 seats.

Todd Neikirk

Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.